Association for Heritage Interpretation

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AHI Awards 2017 announcement

02 May 2017

The Association for Heritage Interpretation is delighted to announce the shortlist for the AHI 2017 Discover Heritage Awards – for excellence in cultural and natural heritage interpretation in Britain and Ireland – sponsored by Wessex Archaeology.

Held biennially AHI Discover Heritage Awards are the only UK and Irish awards to recognise all types of heritage interpretation. Projects of all shapes, sizes and budgets were entered from England, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The quality of interpretation was consistently high, which reflects the strength of heritage interpretation across the UK and Ireland. Shortlisted and commended sites were chosen by a team of interpretation experts from around the UK and Ireland.

Bill Bevan, AHI Chair said “The quality of entrants into the AHI 2017 Discover Heritage Awards made short-listing an exceptionally tough process. The shortlist represents some of the best recent heritage interpretation projects in Britain and Ireland. We are delighted that the shortlist ranges from small to large projects. It is an international badge of excellence whether a site wins, or is shortlisted or commended in one of the categories.”

Shortlisted entries will be visited anonymously over the summer by AHI site judges and the winners will only be announced on the night of the gala awards ceremony, held at the joint AHI – Interpret Europe conference in October at the Eden Court Theatre, Inverness. The recipient of the 2017 AHI Lifetime Achievement Award will also be announced at the ceremony.

The AHI Discover Heritage Awards recognise excellence in all types and sizes of heritage interpretation whether held in museums, historic buildings, visitor centres or any type of outdoor location. Any form of media or activity is suitable including exhibition, print, digital, art or live. An eligible project can be small or large. Whether it is a new leaflet or a million-pound visitor centre (or anything in between), the awards celebrate projects that best meet their interpretive aims and successfully communicate their key messages to their audiences.